The Colors of Indian Cooking is a website I have been following for years which focuses on delicious and healthy Indian food written by Kathy Gori. Gori and her husband, Alan Berger, are Hollywood screenwriters and her second passion is Indian cuisine. She has been creating Indian dishes for over twenty six years living up to her blog’s tagline: A Hollywood Screenwriter, A Bollywood Kitchen.
Photo: Alan Berger
One of the biggest obstacles to people contemplating cooking Indian food is their unfamiliarity with many of the spices as well as procuring them if they do not live near an Indian Market, Gori states. To resolve these issues, she developed The Chaunk which contains 8 key spices and recipes to start us on our Indian food journey.
The Chaunk kit contains: garam masala, black mustard seed (also known as brown mustard seed), kalonji (also known as nigella or black onion seed), Kashmiri chili powder, methi leaves (also known as fenugreek leaf), amchur powder (also known as dried mango powder), cinnamon sticks and dried red chilies. Just that information alone from the kit was very useful to me. Many times I’ve seen dried mango powder in a recipe and did not know to look for it under it’s alternative name, amchur.
Also included in the kit are recipes for simple and tasty vegetarian dishes and perfect for the cook that is venturing into Indian cooking for the first time. There are also 600 additional recipes on The Colors of Indian Cooking.
Kathy informs me that they are working on more Indian rubs and flavors and I will keep you inform of those new items. I love that Kathy grinds all the spices herself!
Photo: Phil Jimcosky
Kathy was gracious enough to provide me with a kit to try out as well as one to share with you (see below). Last week, I tried some of the spices to create an Indian spiced roasted potato dish. I mixed a teaspoon of garam masala and a half teaspoon of Kashmiri chili along with salt to chopped potatoes and onions. A touch of olive oil before roasting for 375 for roughly 40 minutes and it was as easy as that. I finished off with a bit of chopped mint. The warmth from the spices was comforting and gobbled up by the family. I used the same spice mix on some ribs that night and they were spectacular.
GIVEAWAY: Kathy has inspired me to create more Indian cuisine in my kitchen and she wants to inspire you, too. She has provided a second kit to give to one of you! To enter this giveaway which is open to U.S. addresses only leave a comment on this blog post sharing your favorite Indian spice. For a second entry, please share this post to spread the word about The Chaunk (leave a second comment telling me you shared.) A random winner will be chosen on April 25th! Good luck!
Random Number Generator picked #21 Joan Osborne! Congratulations!
Garam Masala
Amchur/amchoor is one of my favorites. Asafoetida is another. It smells awful, but when added to a dish, it gives a beautiful onion and garlic flavor.
Garam masala
I really enjoy garam masala
garam masala….the other spices I am not familiar with but would love to learn to use them…thank you!
Garam marsala
Shared
I dont believe that I gave actually tried an indian spice, but I love garlic and chilis, I am sure it will satisfy my pallette.
I love all the seed blends, especially those with Black Sesame.
Garam masala is great but I love chili’s.
Garam Masala
Shared on FB
I love green cardamom.
I shared this to Facebook, too.
I love cardamom in anything.
Hmm. I really love curry. But garam masala. Is coconut milk traditional?
I really enjoy dried black limes, they give a musty semi pungent oomph to whatever you add it to!
I shared the Facebook post for this fantastic review and giveaway.
Cardamom and cinnamon and tumeric just some of my favs.
Tumeric
Tumeric is one of my favorites.
I shared about the giveaway on Facebook
Mustard seeds, dry roasted in a pan of course!
Fenugreek all the way–I should find candles for my house to make it smell that way all the time.
I love cardamom and sweet curry
I love anything curry. You could put it on a pickle and I’d eat it!
I really love garam masala
Shared on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88875792625588447/
Never had the opportunity to use Indian spices, but would appreciate a chance to try them. I understand that most of them have a medicinal effect?
garam masala, curry leaves, and turmeric..
I like Garam Masala
I shared this post on Pinterest
I love cardamom it is a lovely spice.
Favorite indian spice has to be fresh turmeric but as for dried spices, I absolutely love cardamom! Oh man, I’m sooooo excited for this product. Had no idea she was doing this, but have been following her indian food posts for years. Just haven’t been paying attention lately, I guess. Thanks for your review of this!
Tumeric. Fresh…and dried..use it wildly.
turmeric!
I rarely cook Indian food which is sad because I do love it. Couldn’t tell you what my favorite Indian spice is because I’m just not familiar with them.
I am not familiar with cooking Indian cuisine, but I love eating it! I want to try to cook some of the recipes in a new cookbook I ordered Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India. I love curry!
I shared a link to your giveaway on my facebook page! Thank you! *fingers crossed*
Fresh curry leaves, cardamom, asafoetida. All faves.
I love using cardamom in both savory and sweet dishes.
My favorite Indian spice is turmeric. I use it all the time in my cooking.
Love black cardamom and methi leaves.
I like Nigella and Amchur 🙂
Shared on Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/126311964527473135/
I love cardamom but would love to try the amchur and the methi leaves.
Ginger is my favorite but I love all spices and use them liberally.
Garam masala
My favorite Indian spice is cardamom
My favorite is curry powder, always and on everything.
Cardamom is my favorite. My mommakes these cardamom cookies that are amazing!
Shared on FB
I love them all but it’s a tie between Turmeric and Amchur Powder for my favorite.
Curry for me. I haven’t made any Indian dishes – yet.
I shared this giveaway on Facebook.
I love anything curry but also garam masala
Shared
Cardamom but be careful not to bite into a pod! Very spicy. I love Indian food and frequently go to a restaurant that shows Bollywood movies.
Garam masal, chiles, and green cardamom.
Shared on FB 🙂
Cardamom!
I shared on Twitter
When my wife was pregnant with our son, it is not an exaggeration to say we ate Indian food at least three days a week because of her cravings. I should work Indian food into my repertoire!
I have only ever cooked with garam masala, but now I’m inspired to branch out and try these others!
Turmeric. Cheers for the giveaway!
Cardamom!